Kate Havard

Jerusalem

Istanbul

New York

Yesterday, on the last day of Passover, protesters surrounded the doors of Zabar’s—the iconic Upper West Side grocer famous for its knishes and lox—to demand the store stop selling the carbonated beverage maker SodaStream. The roughly 40 protesters, carrying guitars and signs decrying “Apartheid…

Shakespeare wrote about kings. Not, as the tour guide at the Globe Theatre told me, because the nobility were the reality stars of their day and the masses wanted to know all their business, but because Shakespeare, like his near-contemporaries John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, was a serious political…

Baltimore

Timonium, Md.

The owner of an Italian restaurant in Baltimore was going to talk to me about how his business was preparing for Obamacare, now that it is going to be the law of the land. But seeing the backlash faced by other businessmen who dared to suggest the law might have a less than salubrious impact on…

If you’re headed to the airport for the holidays, here are some tips to keep you off the Transportation Security Administration’s “naughty list”: Holiday puddings (even the figgy kind) are considered “gel-like” substances and must be carried in clear plastic containers of no more than 3.4 ounces.…

Columbus, Ohio

It is no surprise Barack Obama’s campaign is running ads to highlight the support of former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell. After all, for the most part, the military overwhelmingly supports Mitt Romney.

‘California is a wonderful state mismanaged by lunatics,” declares Steven Greenhut, vice president of journalism for the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Anyone who examines California’s economy ought to agree.

As the Cajun primary in south Louisiana rages on, observers continue to describe the race between Congressmen Jeff Landry and Congressman Charles Boustany as a typical Tea Party versus establishment Republican race. But it isn’t. 

This week, Congress is under pressure to pass the 2012 farm bill before the current legislation expires on September 30. About every five years, Congress pushes through a farm bill, ostensibly a big bundle of agriculture subsidies that also funds food stamps. But the name is misleading. Nearly 80…

Lafayette, La.

Charlotte

Former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm's high-powered, fist-pumping speech to the Democratic convention Thursday night has some calling her the "breakout star" of the evening.

Speaking at the Democratic convention's Women's Caucus on Thursday morning, First Lady Michelle Obama made a direct appeal to women voters. “You believe as I do that my husband has been an extraordinary president, ” she said. “Barack understands the challenges that women face, and he has made it…

Charlotte

In remarks in Tampa, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow noted that Paul Ryan mentioned the phrase “tax fairness” in yesterday’s Republican convention address:

After nearly four years of waiting, and a landmark Supreme Court decision, David Bossie, chairman of the advocacy group Citizens United, finally got what he wanted—the chance to make a movie that could change the course of an election. Tuesday at the Republican National Convention, Citizens United…

If you are at all plugged in to the happenings of Hollywood, or have stood in line at the grocery store, or glanced at a newsstand, you know that the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce has been almost omnipresent since the news broke two months ago. Everybody knows that the tabloid media are, at best,…

A new study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds that, when it comes to “threatening or disruptive behavior,” union members have far more rights—or, at least, far more license—than their fellow Americans. The Chamber's study, “Sabotage, Stalking, and Stealth Exemptions: Special State Laws for…

Three weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, union leaders are investing a significant amount of time and money on a “shadow convention” for organized workers, which will be held August 11 in Philadelphia, and called the Workers Stand for America rally. The International…

A man wanders along a beach, picking up smelly rocks and poking things with sticks. If one of the gray-green lumps he seeks happens to have just the right scent—of squid, musk, and fecal matter—it could change his life. Ambergris is a rare substance which has been used for centuries to make…

Democrat Ron Barber defeated Republican Jesse Kelly yesterday in Arizona’s special election for the House seat formerly held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Barber received 52 percent of the vote—to Kelly’s 45 percent—and will serve out the remainder of Giffords’s term, before coming up for reelection…

The special election to fill the last six months of Gabrielle Giffords’s term in the Eighth Congressional District of Arizona is rapidly approaching. Although the race looks close, no one can say that the candidates are neck and neck. At 6’8”, Republican Jesse Kelly stands head and shoulders above…

Maryland governor Martin O’Malley is lending last minute support today to Democratic Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett in Wisconsin, days before the June 5th gubernatorial recall election. O’Malley is chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, so trying to get Barrett elected is (at least part of)…

Annapolis

Starting in March 2011, a series of microearthquakes hit Ohio. The first few registered just above 2.0 on the Richter scale and were not felt by residents. But on New Year’s Eve, a tremor hit Youngstown that measured 4.0—still very mild, but noticed. It was the second quake to hit the area in a…

It has been 1,000 days since the Senate has produced a budget, and congressional Republicans are getting fed up.

Al Gore will never die. Or at least, he doesn’t plan to. 

Cincinnati

The Obama administration is after your Lucky Charms, or at least your children’s. The public comment period closed on July 14 for a set of “voluntary” guidelines for the marketing of food to children. If adopted, these rules will transform the advertising of breakfast cereals.

After going more than 800 days without releasing a budget, the Senate Budget Committee has leaked a draft of a preliminary budget “blueprint” to the Washington Post. 

The House Budget Committee on Thursday released a report “demonstrating that economic hardships have been made worse by Washington’s misguided interventions and the lack of a credible plan to lift the crushing debt burden."

The Supreme Court in Nevada yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision allowing central party committees to nominate a single candidate in the upcoming special election, despite the Secretary of State’s decision that the election should be a “free-for-all.”

While President Obama and other Democrats frequently talk about the need for "shared sacrifice" and a "balanced" approach to deficit reduction, their proposal to raise taxes $418 billion is a grab bag of liberal favorites: ending tax breaks for oil companies and corporate jet companies, as well as…

While President Obama and other Democrats frequently talk about the need for "shared sacrifice" and a "balanced" approach to deficit reduction, their proposal to raise taxes $418 billion is a grab bag of liberal favorites: ending tax breaks for oil companies and corporate jet companies, as well as…

House Ways and Means committee member Rep. Kevin Brady  (R-Tx.) unveiled a new spending plan earlier this week, the Maximizing America’s Prosperity Act.

In time for summer, two dispatches of interest from the world of publishing.

In time for summer, two dispatches of interest from the world of publishing.